


Mexicanisms

by TheMusicalCC



Category: Book of Life (2014), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Genre: Exchanging Stories, Family, Gen, In-Laws, Meeting the Parents, fluffy af
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 14:40:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12061050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMusicalCC/pseuds/TheMusicalCC
Summary: Jack wants Sally to meet her parents- who happen to be Gods of the dead. They still have more in common than it would appear.





	Mexicanisms

She doesn’t exactly get it when Jack says his parents aren’t from halloween town, because, he is the Pumpking King, right? For what Sally understands about monarchy, based on the many books on Jack’s library she’s read, they pass on from parents to children or next of kin. Jack says that actually, yes, it  _is_  that way, but his isn’t an actual monarchy because Halloween Town has a Mayor and- it’s complicated, he doesn’t get it himself. Apparently, he showed up one day and was the scariest and BOOM he was King.

But he has parents. A mother and a father, and they aren’t exactly from Halloween Town or Christmas Town or even Easter Town or anything of the sort, the entrances to their kingdoms aren’t in trees with painted doors and they are  _gods_ , out of all things. When Jack tells her that gods created everything, even people, and Sally asks if that would mean -the sole notion makes her nauseous- that Doctor Finkelstein is her god, he says no; quick and somewhat scandalized. The conversation ends because both parts are just too disturbed to continue.

But, eventually, he tells her he wants her to meet his parents. More exactly, for them to meet her. They haven’t been in touch as much as he’d like and now that he has someone -he says someone in a way that makes her feel more of a someone than anything else in the world- he thinks it’s a good time to reconnect. She understands, because it would have been nice to have someone like a parent and introduce Jack to them and have them feel happy for her. Not once does it occur to her that they might not be happy, why wouldn’t they be if she and Jack were simply meant to be? So she accepts and on the days following halloween, they set off on board of the Mayor’s automobile.

* * *

The road Jack follows coils and coils behind Remains Mountain, and then unwinds down, and then zig-zags up again and then- frankly, she can’t keep up, all she knows is at one point there’s something that looks like snow raining all around them and Jack pulls over.

“Something wrong?” she asks.

“I don’t think the automobile is going to agree with the climate in my father’s Realm” he says. She starts to say snow didn’t seem to affect it back in Halloweentown but when he opens the door, instead of the blizzard air she was expecting, she gets a whiff of cold dampness, like that of a cave. She opens her own door and steps outside and instead of sinking her feet in dusty and damp cold, finds herself stepping on something dry and feathery. When she puts her hand out, what lands on it feels more like cobwebs than ice. It turns to soot when she tries to pick it up with careful fingers.

“Ash" she mutters. Jack has already gone around the car.

“Properly gloomy, right?” he says with a smile. She nods, smiling as well.

“I see where you got your taste for it”

He chuckles and offers her his arm.

“Shall we? Father’s house it’s not far”

They intertwine their arms and start walking. From inside the car, she had only been able to tell the sky had changed colors, but now she can see the light was dim, almost dying. Instead of the rocky but still somewhat smooth road they had been driving over, the ground has beome coarse and filled with pointy, teeth-like formations. Jack knows his way around them very well, though, leading her safely through the stalagmites and sudden drops and chains and adorned statues and- oh, heavens, scratch that, the statues move. 

“The Forgotten Souls” Jack says as they walk past the not-statue, which seems to curl tighter around itself, under the broad palm hat, and moans under it’s breath.

“How do they do it?” she asks, motioning for her own cheek “The green glowing marks”

He pauses for a moment and scratches his head.

“You know…I don’t really know” they continue walking and he ponders out loud, as he often does “The inhabitants in mother’s Realm have markings too, but those don’t glow…I think the markings are a thing that’s common in  _calacas_? But they’re different for each realm” they reach a stair-like formation, still too twisted and deformed to be easy to climb down normally, and he helps her down the steps carefullt, grabbing her by the waist “The ones in aunt La Noche’s place are bright blue…”

“His eyes are green too” 

“Yeah, that changes for each Realm as well” they reach the end of the stairs and find a ledge he can easily climb down of, but she needs help with. He steps down and reaches for her immediately, and continues talking as she easily slides into his hands “The Remembered get golden eyes, and the Cursed bright red…”

“And you?” Sally asks, letting her hands rest over his shoudlers in a wordless request to not lower her just yet, and their faces are in front of each other.

“What about me?” he says, gazing at her in a way that makes her feel fluttery and happy. She cradles the side of his face because she can.

“Your eyes. They don’t have ether of those colors”

He blinks, looking as though the question had never really crossed his mind and lowers her carefully to scratch at the back of his skull again.

“I’m…technically both and neither, I guess?” he mutters, more towards himself than her. It’s curious how, for one so curious, he’s never questioned so many things about his own background “Mother says I have my grandfather’s eyes”

“Grandparents too?” she asks, cocking an eyebrow as they begin walking again. He smiles somewhat sheepishly.

“And I’ll introduce you to them too, of course” even more stalagmites stand in their way and they have to zig-zag and go around them in order to advance. He goes first everytime and then reaches for her. For a moment, she wonders on the back of her mind about why exactly he’s acting as though expecting there to be something dangerous on every corner, but she pushes the thought away “Grandfather Mictlán and grandmother Micteca live in a place that’s a bit harder to reach, though, I might need mother’s help for that”

“Do you have brothers or sisters?” Sally asks, now invested in learning as much as she can about him. She almost misses the way his expression sours a bit as he turns around the next stalagmite and then offers her a hand.

“Quite a few younger ones. I’m the second son”

She doesn’t dwell on the way Jack’s eyes seem sad when he says it, instead she tries to imagine what growing up with ‘Quite a few’ other children would feel like…what growing up would feel like, period.

“Cousins?” she says as Jack steps over a lower, rounder rock, and she follows, sliding over it “You mentioned your aunt and uncle” 

His smile returns in full power before he slides between two stalagmites.

“Oh, yes. They’re a handful, specially the twins”

“Twins!” she gasps in glee as she struggles to squeeze her broader frame through the same crevice “Are they joined by the hip? Or perhaps two heads in the same body…or two torsos in the same legs?”

“Hold on” he says, before muttering something she doesn’t catch. The Stalagmites shift to the sides, allowing her to pass easily, and he takes her hand and motions for the front.“We’re here”

The “House” in question is actually a castle…or so she guesses. The construction doesn’t really look like what she knows castles to be like, but it’s the first word that comes to mind when she sets eyes upon it. It’s big enough to put Dr. Finklestein’s to shame, completely made out of black stone, lovingly carved, and shaped like a coiling snake with two heads. The surrounding lava moat gives it a homely and cozy appearance.

“It’s lovely!” she says in all sincerity.

“It is” he agrees, but his expression staggers for a second, between glad and mortified “…I just hope we don’t happen to find them arguing”

They follow the stone path and enter right through the mouth of one of the snakes and into a wide and magnificent throne room, where she gets the first glimpse at Jack’s parents as they sit across each other over a board of chess.

Jacks mother is pretty, she finds herself thinking. She’s tall and imposing, but seems kind, even as she gloats over her apparent victory. His father, though, is the real looker. Although, he does look more intimidating, what with the huge wings at his back and the armor that covers him, all topped with the frown he’s directing to both the board and his wife.

“-you are already- what? A good millenium old by now?” Jack’s mother was saying, her smile sharp as a shard of glass under the moonlight “And you still don’t know how to lose with dignity, my love”

“I tell you, woman” Jack’s father replied “I’ve been sensing an intruder in the Realm, and it’s been distracting me. I demand a rematch!”

“Oh, grow up, Xibalba”

“I am serious!”

“Intruder? Father, that stings” Jack calls out, mock hurt in his expression as he brings his hand upon his heart dramatically. Both heads turn to him. His mother’s smile becomes a sparkle of genuine joy.

“ _Mijo_!” she exclaimes as she flurries to him on a speed that makes Sally flinch out of the way subconsciously and hugs him tight, spinning in place for a bit, her train sweeping the stone around them. Jack’s father has a more discreet smile and a more discreet approach, but Sally can see his face soften considerably at the sight of his son. It dawns on her, though, that it was her he meant when he spoke of an intruder, and the thought freezes her in place. Indeed, that’s exactly what she is. The thought strengthens when Jack’s father reaches out to shake Jack’s hand once his wife is done fuzzing over him, in a gesture that seems overly formal considering the previous scene. For a moment, both of them stick to the formality of it, but then the charade crumbles and they hug each other as well with comfortable laughs. She has little time to observe it because Jack’s mother is immediately upon her, glancing down upon her shape with a warm and material air that makes her feel a lot less as an outsider.

“ _Bienvenida_ , young one, what is your name?” she says with a quick but gracefull bow of her head. Sally mimicks as best as she can.

“Sally…” she says, her voice steady despite everything. She tries to think of what to call her but nothing comes to mind. Jack said she was a Goddess, how does one address a Goddess?

“She’s my girlfriend, mother” Jack says, going to her to quickly wrap an arm around her. His mother’s eyes go wide and bright.

“Your-? Oh, mijito! That’s wonderful news!” she takes one of his hands and one of Sally’s and squeezes them firmly and warmly “Wonderful-!”

“Now, hold on just a minute” Jack’s father intervenes. Sally feels the stitches in her stomach tighten in nervousness at his tone and his judgmental stare as he steps between his wife and the couple. He stares them down one second longer, then adds, on a softer voice, lips curving “This is a story I want to hear”

She almost laughs in relief. Jack does.

“It’s not a long story. I supposse you heard about my little, er, misunderstanding with Sandy Claws”

“ _Ayyyyy_ , Jack” his mother says, extending the first word through her teeth  in a tone that Sally will soon come to identify as mexican mothers’ brand of reproach. She’s holding the bridge of her nose between thumb and index, but an amused smile playing on her lips. His father doesn’t even bother hiding his own mirth.

“Honestly, taking over christmas…or rather, the sugar-rush, capitalism side of it-”

“Don’t be a Scrooge, Xibalba”

“Or what,  _mi amor_? Will  you come haunt me in my bed after the clock strikes one?”

“Wait- you  _did_  know what christmas was?” Sally asks before she realizes it’s probably impudent to ask so freely, so she adds, apologetically “I just wonder- because Jack didn’t have a clue” 

“I have a background with the original crew responsible for it” Jack’s father says, seemingly not minding her forwardness “Or what originated modern christmas celebrations, either way. That one  _is_  a long story” when Sally blinks and tips her head to the side, considering him, he motions for the halls of his castle with his staff, a possitively trick-filled, toothy grin on his face “How about the four of us take a seat and exchange stories,  _señorita_?”

* * *

Sally tells her side of the story, as Jack’s parents had apparently heard the general gist of Jack’s side before. They seem very intrigued by her origins, as she only fleetingly mentions she was ‘Made’ rather than born, but they can probably sense it to be a tender spot because they don’t pry. They only interrupt once or twice for a question, but for the most part they’re silent. Sally tries not to be overly descriptive of the inner turmnoil she was going through during the whole ordeal. Even as she tells of how she heard of Jack’s presumed death while captive in the Oogie Boogie’s lair, she tries to skim over her feelings on the matter, but she spies a glossy light in La Muerte’s eyes that somehow makes her think she understands it. When she’s done telling her tale, the hosts retire for a moment. ‘To get snacks’ they say, but something about them tells her something else is going on.

“Did I say something wrong?” she asks Jack once his parents are out of sight. He hugs her tighter.

“Not at all”

“But then…?”

“Wait until you hear their story. You’ll understand then”

As it turns out, after the Gods come back with a huge plate of some baked, worm-like pastries Jack’s mother calls ‘Churros’ and a huge jar of hot cocoa, they still wait to know for a few more details on her relationship with Jack before starting to tell their own tale.

Sally doesn’t quite understand all of it, mostly because it speaks of things she only vaguely has a concept for, but she does understand that Jack’s father was once almost killed -by fire too, no less!- and that Jack’s mother could understand the grief she’d been through during those instants where she’d believed Jack to be gone for good because she’d felt it as well. It was comforting to know that they had something in common, even if it was something as unspeakably terrible as the almost-loss of a loved one.

After exchanging those stories, they talk of many other, happier things. Sally asks them about the realms, about the  _calacas_ , they seem genuinelly delighted with her curiosity (” _Simply meant to be, indeed_ “ are Xibalba’s exact words, as he directs a knowing glance at his son) and try as best as they can to satisfy it. They talk about Jack’s childhood, his siblings, his relation with them, the possibility of having them meet Sally…when they comment on Jack’s older sister, Sartana, a shadow crosses both their faces and Sally  _really_  wants to ask, but given the fact that it seems to grieve Jack too, she holds back. Instead, she speaks of the inhabitants of Halloween Town, which makes Jack’s expression light up and he adds in, and even speaks of the Christmas Town people, despite how most of it makes his father curl his lip; they speak of Jack’s cousins, and other Gods, and family friends. They speak of his younger siblings too, and based on their descriptions, she really can’t wait to meet them.

“Maybe you two could stay for the night” Jack’s mother offers “I could call them all in for a small family gathering tomorrow so they can meet you”

Sally turns to Jack, eager, but sighs a bit.

“I’d love to, mother, but we borrowed Mr. Mayor’s automobile and I have to give it back by tomorrow…preferrably not malfunctioning due to ash”

“Oh, that’s right” Sally says, not bothering to mask her disappointment.

“We could always send it over” Jack’s father offers “It’s practically nothing for a God”

“So you said last time and the fountain statue  _somehow_  ended up materilizing in the witches’ cauldron”

Xibalba laughs fondly at the thought, until he notices his wife’s glance.

“Ahem. I guess, if there’s no helping it-”

“Oh, but could we do it another time?” Sally says, not minding one bit that she sounds pleading “I’d really,  _really_  love to meet the whole family”

“How does next week sound?” Jack’s mother offers “It gives me enough time to prepare a proper banquet and call everyone up, and hopefully, for you two to finish any pending work in Halloween Town”

“And could I meet Jack’s grandparents?”

Jack’s father makes a face at this, but his wife nods.

“Everyone,  _mijita._ We could even get them to borrow you two the flying carriage so you don’t have to borrow that contraption of the mayor’s _”_

Sally turns to Jack in expectancy and this time he’s beaming.

“Yes, yes! It will be great!”

And so, it’s settled. As they say their goodbyes, Jack’s mother envelops him in another tight hug and then surprises Sally by hugging her tightly too. Her surprise doesn’t  last much, and she’s quickly returning the hug in earnest. When she’s released, Jack’s father takes one of her hands and kisses it, tickling her with his mustache.

“See you soon,  _mija_ ”

* * *

“Jack? Are you awake?”

He snorts, starts and turns to her.

“ _Yah’mawake_ ” he mumbles, blinking sleepily.

“What does ‘ _Mijo’_  mean?”

He seems too sleepy to process the question at first, but then yaws out the answer, jaw almost popping right out as his mouth opens wide.

“My son”

“And ‘ _Mijito_ ’?”

“It’s the same thing” he’s more alert now, but his speech is still slightly slurred “I should warn you, Mexico has an..:” he halts to yawn again and then continues “…an infatuation with adding endearing diminutives at the end of words”

“But it doesn’t change the meaning”

“Sometimes…other times it’s just an expression of fondness”

Sally goes silent for a moment, but just when he starts shifting, ready to fall asleep again, she mutters:

“So then…both ‘ _Mija_ ’ and ’ _Mijita_ ’ mean…”

Jack smiles into his pillow and she feels happiness flutter within her because she know the answer to this.

“My daughter”

**Author's Note:**

> Sometime ago, I got an anon in Tumblr requesting I wrote 'A one-shot about Sally meeting the in-laws'. It's been one of my favorite things to write so far, so I thought I'd post it here as well.


End file.
